Tuesday, February 14, 2012

You Might Think That David Brooks

saying stupid thing about work, culture, politics and manufacturing would be a gift to a writer like me who focuses on work, culture, politics, occasionally on manufacturing and often on Mr. Brooks.

Another whole column devoted to pretending the complete failure of every Conservative policy for the last 30 years has nothing to do with our problems today?

Another column lecturing the poor and hectoring imaginary Liberals and their imaginary inability to be as insightful and sensitive about values and morals as Our Mr. Brooks?
The depressing lesson of the last few weeks is that the public debate is dominated by people who stopped thinking in 1975.
See, I didn't realize we were having a "public debate": I thought one side had just gone completely bugfuck, and the other, sensible, rational side was being aggressively ignored by the liars and hucksters in the middle in fvor of another fatuous lecture on Centrism.

Anyway, that is how the opening coda of my little essay was to have read, but the truth is, having fiddled with it on and off for a few hours, I tossed it in the trash just after watching Chris Matthews slobbering over Andrew Sullivan's  "Brilliant!  Brilliant!  Just brilliant!" pronouncements regarding women's reproductive issues (because who better to opine about about women and birth control that America's leading gay Catholic Tory?).

Because deconstructing the silly, destructive nonsense or people like Mr. Brooks today -- no matter how well told or insightful or interleaved with tasty facts my finished product might have been -- seemed as pointless as standing in my back yard firing toy arrows at the Moon.


7 comments:

Stephen A said...

"...seemed as pointless as standing in my back yard firing toy arrows at the Moon."

Is Newt doing that again??

StonyPillow said...

As pointless as the waves, each stealing naught but a few grains of sand from under the House of Brooks. Until one day, when something happens.

Disemboweling weasels is virtuous in and of itself, and the exercise keeps you in fine fettle. Pray, continue.

Roket said...

The thrill is gone? Can't say as how I blame you. DFB does seem to be devolving at an increasingly rapid rate here lately. Perhaps if you directed your attention to, say, the Doughy Pantload for a while. He's always ripe for a good dressing down as well and also too.

Anonymous said...

Repetition is the most effective rhetorical figure. Repetition is the sole point of Brooks' columns. He'll then go on all the librulMedia programs that admit him, and repeat the nonsense again, etc., etc., etc,

Real Mur'cans are too busy carting little Elwood around in their FUVs to pay attention to politics. They get the odd talking point from somewhere (npr, pbs, cnn, ...) and it lodges in their brains through election day. Republicans don't have to rely on Fox. All media repeat their orchestrated drivel. Brooks' aim & purpose is to keep the ball rolling.

Let's not forget that DFB did time writing WSJ editorial page diatribes. Taking such a "writer" seriously enough to scour his typing for meaning is the fool's errand par excellence.

The only point of the right's msm chorus is repetition. Repetition!

RockDots said...

What, no DFB smackdown? I blame the 60's!

Mister Roboto said...

The problem as I perceive it is that we live in a society where too many people see and hear only what they think it is in their interests to see and hear. I try not to do that myself, but when you find yourself surrounded by teh crazee, it is sometimes difficult not to absorb some of teh crazee yourself.

Sandy Duncan's Eye said...

"Bugfuck" is my new favorite word!

Thanks, DG.